Vatican City
The smallest country in the world offers the heart of Catholicism and among the
world's finest art collections, including the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael
Rooms (ceiling pictured). Go to Vatican City!

Austria
Belvedere Palace (pictured) is just one of many palaces found in Vienna. The capital
is a good start to Austria, which also features the Alps, the Lakes District, and
incredible history & food. Go Now!

Ukraine
Ukrainian culture is based on village life, particularly that found in the Carpathian
Mountains (pictured). Begin Your Journey!

Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Moldova

Ethnicity

Most of the people in Moldova claim to be either "Moldovan"
or "Romanian," both of which are identical ethnically.
There are also significant minority groups of Russians, Ukrainians, and to a lesser degree Roma (gypsies) and Gagauz.
The Moldovans and Romanians, as an ethnic group, are somewhat unique in
Europe; their closest relatives are minor groups found throughout the Balkan
Peninsula and the difference between the two is based on identity, not genetics.
The Russians and Ukrainians are eastern Slavic, the Roma are most closely related
to the people of India, and the Gagauz are also Slavic, but
are more genetically similar to the southern Slavs in the Balkan Peninsula.

Language

Moldovan is the official language of Moldova, but is a language
identical to Romanian other than a few phonetic and vocabulary
variations. Moldovan is a Romance language very closely related to Latin; it is
written in the Latin script in most of the country, but in the region of Transnistria
is commonly written in the Cyrillic script.

The Russians natively speak Russian and the
Ukrainians generally speak both Ukrainian and Russian, but neither group
tends to learn Moldovan, making Russian the de facto language of communication in
the country, despite not having official status. The Gagauz speak a language called
Gagauz, which is in the Turkish language family, but these
people again tend to speak Moldovan or Russian. English and other popular international
languages are rarely taught in Moldova, but are growing in popularity. Many young
people today speak at least a minimal amount of English, but fluency is rare.

Religion

Almost the entire population of Moldova is Orthodox Christian
(Moldovan Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Russian
Orthodox, or Ukrainian Orthodox) including most of the Turkish-speaking Gagauz. There is also a very small Jewish
population, which has significantly decreased since World War II, before which time
Jews made up nearly half of Chisinau's population.

Orthodoxy is a Christian religion that claims to be the most loyal to the Christian
faith and religion as it was described by Jesus and the Gospels in the New Testament.
Christianity, including Orthodoxy, was founded after the death of Jesus in about
30-33 AD; various branches of Orthodoxy were officially recognized by governments
long before Catholicism was recognized in the Roman Empire.

Orthodoxy and Catholicism have many of the same beliefs; both believe that there
is a single God who created everything and a savior, the son of God, Jesus Christ
who is the forgiver of sins. However, Orthodoxy is very decentralized so each bishop
oversees their local country or region, giving each orthodox country a different
leader. In this way, no bishop has more power than any other, meaning the tenants
and interpretations of the faith remain relatively unchanged. These beliefs are
based on the teachings of the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, in
particular the life and teachings of Jesus, which is found in the gospels (in the
New Testament).